Compressors and blowers having stationary and moving components and handling atmospheric industrial quality air must be protected from ingesting, at their intake, suspended solids present in the accelerated air stream. Large size solids suspended in the air stream can impart mechanical damage to the moving and stationary components of these machines, and small size suspended solids can, with time, deteriorate the mechanical and thermodynamic performance of the machinery by accumulating on the stationary and moving surfaces thereof and on any stationary heat exchanging surfaces located along the air path. One or more air intake filters are typically used to prevent the contamination and consequent damage to compressors and blowers from particles present in an industrial atmosphere, and a wide range of designs is available to meet the air-cleaning requirements for a specific compressor application.
The physical size of an air intake filter assembly is directly determined by the amount of atmospheric air flow handled by the downstream compressor or blower. An air intake filter assembly, in typical industrial applications, is remotely located from the compressor or blower, or is integrated within a confining enclosure or canopy that also contains the compressor and its auxiliary components.